Interview: North Down hopeful Alex Easton on the Protocol, environment, extra bank holidays and his election agent

Alex Easton says his opposition to the Irish Sea border has always been clear – highlighting a recent assembly vote alongside Jim Allister against an EU regulation. Pic: Liam McBurney/PA Wire

The independent is angry about what he claims are dirty tricks by his election rivals. But what does he stand for, how does he intend to deliver for the constituency – and are his policies thought through?

In a broad raging interview with the News Letter, the independent MLA – who hopes to swap Stormont for the green benches of Westminster – discusses his policies on issues from the Protocol to extra bank holidays. He even wants to double the number of windfarms in Northern Ireland – but not necessarily in North Down.

A keen environmentalist – he also wants Westminster to intervene over Stormont’s failing climate policy.

The News Letter spoke to Alex Easton by phone last week, as he had too many other commitments to arrange a face-to-face interview. The interview started by looking at his position on the NI Protocol.

His exact position on the Irish Sea border has been a source of intrigue – particularly for opponent Stephen Farry who has attempted to get him to come down on either the TUV or DUP side of the debate. In other words – does he back the DUP’s deal (which it now appears the DUP itself no longer backs).

He says his opposition to the Protocol and the Irish Sea border has always been clear – highlighting a recent Assembly vote alongside Jim Allister against an EU regulation. “I think that the problem with unionism is that we don’t make friends or build relationships in Westminster with other political parties and that would be my aim – to go and make friends, build relationships and explain what’s going on and try and remove the border down the Irish Sea”, he said.

Mr Easton says he would work with all parties to achieve that, and there are some perhaps surprisingly left wing pledges in Mr Easton’s election literature such as on the environment, extra bank holidays and raising the minimum wage for 16 year olds. He denies that the pledges are left wing, or green – saying that his politics are centre ground.

“I am different to some unionist parties and politicians. I do really care about animal issues. I’ve got a dog, two cats and a horse. I’m very much against animal cruelty and I do care about the environment. I do believe in climate change and I do believe we need to move away from fossil fuels and I very much think wind farms is the way to do that”, he said.

But would he want them in his own constituency?

“They have to be in the right location. It could be anywhere across Northern Ireland but they all have to be sensitive and in the right locations. So where there are currently wind farms, those locations are right, so why not just double them?”

New windfarms in North Down could only go ahead if “they’ve got the support of the local community”, he says. Asked about the obvious perception that he wants wind farms, just not in his own area, he said: “If they can be increased in North Down in the right locations, absolutely”.

His literature is also very clear on the environment generally – he supports the Climate Act and and an independent environmental protection agency – something his previous party the DUP resisted. It was put to him that these devolved issues could be better dealt with in his current role as an MLA – which he agreed with, but said his election literature reflected his beliefs and issues that are coming up on the doors – adding: “I can use my position in Westminster to push the Assembly in that direction”.

Northern Ireland is far behind on its Climate Act aims – with a number of key targets already missed. Asked whether Westminster should intervene, he said “I don’t believe the Assembly is going to meet their targets. Westminster stepping in is probably the right way to go about this to push this forward”.

Mr Easton’s election literature promises between one and four extra bank holidays per year. He says that’s because “I believe that basically the population deserves to have extra time… to basically reward the population with extra bank holidays if possible. It’s just my own personal view”.

What about the cost to business? It isn’t clear that he’s though through how it would work. The independent candidate says “There probably would be a cost to some businesses. I mean there’s a lot of people that would still have to work through bank holidays and wouldn’t get that. But you know, I believe with growing the economy and creating more jobs we would prosper and we could financially afford that”.

Alex Easton also believes 16 year olds should get the same minimum wage as older age groups. It is currently tiered. He said: “I believe that everybody should be paid the same and standard wages. So, it certainly might cost business extra but I believe the economy is in a good state at the moment and I believe it’s affordable and certainly government could help that too”.

Asked about the impact of such a change on small businesses, he said “It’s not about just saying ‘you have to go and do it’. It’s something that can be phased in over a period of time, to give the opportunity to find out and take measures to be able to afford that”.

He has also pledged to reduce rates for smaller companies and increase them for larger companies. “It’s the big companies I would be aiming at. And smaller rates for smaller businesses. In Bangor there’s a dearth of empty premises because of the rates for small businesses”. Asked about the cost to councils of cutting small business rates, and a potential reduction to local authority budgets – he said “Well, if you’re raising it with the bigger ones [companies] that would offset that, in my view”.

On his election agent Austen Lennon – who has “stood back” from the campaign after criticism of social media posts on Covid and the conflict in the Middle East – Alex Easton says “It’s complicated”.

“Mr Lennon is taking legal action, so I don’t want to get too involved in things. But we’ve checked with the Electoral Office and yes we can replace him. But then with the [Electoral] Commission it meant that we would have to stop my campaign to order new leaflets and new posters which is just not economically viable for me to do – it would put me over the threshold. So Mr Lennon is not taking part in any active part of my campaign except to do the legalities that he has to do”.

Alex Easton has accused the Alliance Party and UUP of being involved in “dirty tricks” against his campaign. Asked if it was fair to criticise opponents for highlighting comments that Mr Lennon made on social media, Alex Easton said “Well they were dirty tricks because they went to go and try to find things to damage me.

“That’s all it’s about, that’s all this election has been by the Alliance Party and the Ulster Unionist Party – attacking me”.

He said “everything is just attacking Alex Easton – there’s nothing on policies or what they’re going to do or what they’ve achieved. It’s just all anti-Alex Easton and it’s just constant”.

Asked if he should have checked whether his election agent had made controversial comments in the past, he said: “Austen was an election agent for me in the Assembly election and there was nothing brought up”. He said he was disappointed in the comments and said they don’t reflect his views.